After "The Challenger 5", we felt that if we were going to do another one we really had to go back to our roots. In the "Dark Triad" we felt that we had to end in a way where we didn't need to comeback. That film was supposed to be our series finale and with that came the responsibility of having big action scenes that are engaging to an audience that will make them stay until the end. We did that, but we did it in a way where it was a tad out there and unrealistic. We were content on continuing with that root with a "Lawman" spinoff. The script was ready and set to be filmed when one of our lead actors dropped out and with that the script was re-written and ultimately cancelled. After the way the "Dark Triad" ended we felt that instead of doing a spinoff we should comeback with another "Challenger' film. We wanted this to be different from the last one so we went through several different scripts until we came up with "Born to Kill." This story is going back to our roots in a good and different way. Our goal was to bring back the cinematography of the forest scenes from 'The Challenger 2:Unlimited' with the character story elements that we used for "The Challenger 3: Urban Outlaw" & "The Challenger 4: Urban Legend," along with the realistic fights from "The Challenger 4." We also didn't want to have the same villains from the last 4 films and with two of them being killed off, we had the opportunity to explore never before seen villains.
We came up with a character named Damien Black. Black (like 'Sledge') is out for revenge for the death of the people he loved. 'The Challenger' killed his family and he wants him dead. This is bad karma for "The Challenger" as he experienced what it was like to loose the people he loved through his endless war with Lucas Wolf. But the difference from Sledge's story to Blacks story is that Sledge's family was innocent, Blacks family was not. Black is the main antagonist in this film although he is not much of a villain as he just wants justice for his family. The man who portrayed Mr.Black is Justin Paul Moses. Believe it or not, he is not the first to play this character. Like several others of the cast members, we had another guy (who will remain nameless) who originally was casted for this role. He filmed several scenes with us and then dropped out to join a movie production. So we recasted and Justin landed the role and things worked out for the better. Justin is a fight coordinator so he really helped with the realism in the fights and it benefited the film in a big way.
Holly Rawls, an assassin working alongside the criminal enterprise that created the 'Dark Triad' is a character in the film which is more of an introduction role. She has a few scenes that really start to show the way she rebels against the boss and really makes you wonder about what is to come... Holly was originally casted and we were forced to recast as the actress had some off-set problems and so we casted the amazing Cynthia Stone. She brought a lot to the table and really took the character in a different direction than the way we wrote it which really worked out for the better. Next on the list was the new don of the Ricci family and his name was Giovanni. Adam Bossio portrays this character, but funny enough he was originally casted as the leader of the drug cartel who's name is Mendez. But after plans with the original Giovanni fell a part we switched Adams role and once again it worked out perfect. He played Ricci in a way where it was a
mixture of the guys from the movie "Goodfella's" and Pauli from "The Sopranos." He took the role into a more Italian direction which was a change from the way Antonio Ricci JR was played and thats a good thing. If everyone were to act the same it would be boring, but when your surprised it really works out.Mendez, the leader of the drug cartel in Mexico was played by Ben Passmore and he did a great job. It was the smallest role of the film, but the way he played it made it a memorable role. Aryn Sky, leader of the Irish mob was supposed to be played by Agata Waclawska, but due to a personal matter she couldn't make it to set and her role was cut, but her character will be introduced in the next film (2015). Another new cast member is Cassandra Potenza as the new Brooklyn. Liia Kajak (2nd brooklyn) portrayed this role for films "4" & "5", but due to scheduling she couldn't return and we were forced to recast. Cassandra had a new
approach to the character which really worked well for those flashback scenes and they're definitely something to remember. As for returning cast members we have Angelo Di Pardo returning as Provenzano. Provenzano is the leader of crime and he has been teased since the very beginning and now he has his chance to shine. What is unique about this antagonist is that "The Challenger" doesn't know he exists, which makes him a hard man to track.
Another character who is getting more screen time is Barbara played by Mikayla Pacitto. Barbara is a corrupt cop from the LAPD who's job was to keep watch on Sledge, but since he quit she works closely with Provenzano. Darius Ban returned as Lucas Wolf but since he met his demise in the last film he was in the flashbacks. So for the first time since the third film we were able to continue the Iraq story which really adds to the series. Dino Mazza returns as Ricci in the first scene of the film which is a continuation of the cliff hanger from film 5. Will Ricci survive? Find out next month...As for the main original cast, Mike Covello will make a cameo as Mora, Rick Sledge battles to stay alive against the criminal empire and Gunnerson battles his demons in the shape of the bottle as he tries to track down 'The Challenger.'
This film will premier on November 1st and its more like a prelude for what is to come in January 2015.
- Andrew Di Pardo
